9days/8nights
Tour grade: Easy
Style: Traveller
This spectacular event includes competitions based on speed, agility, and accuracy of these magnificent Golden Eagles and some great Kazakh traditional games such as Bushkashi, Tiyn Ter, archery and traditional camel racing etc are also organized on the festival days.
This fantastic festival celebrating the Kazakhs' honoured Eagle is also a celebration of Kazakh traditional heritage. In order to maintain the event as a festival for the Kazakhs themselves, attendance is limited.
The highlight of this fantastic trip is interacting with the Kazakhs and other ethnic groups and living with them for a couple of days to take part in the eagle training and get to know about the unique Kazakh culture.
Landscape and cultural sightseeing blend easily in Mongolia – you will have the chance to visit families of nomads, remote Buddhist monasteries and traditional events, and to take part in horse-riding or guided walking if you wish – there are also endless opportunities for photography.
Sep 12. Arrival in Ulaanbaatar
Arrive in Ulaanbaatar, meet at the airport after custom formalities and transfer to the hotel. The remainder of the day is for you to get over jet lag and take a good rest before your wonderful journey across Mongolia. Hotel 4*
Sep 13. City Tour
Meet your English-speaking local guide at 08:00 in the morning in the hotel lobby and start the city tour. The city tour of Ulaanbaatar takes you through some of the principal sights of this unique city. You visit the Gandan Monastery, housing a 26-meter-high gilded statue of the Buddha. Short visit to Ger district where you will see part of rural lifestyle. Your tour also takes you to the Genghis Khan monument on the square and the National Museum, which has a number of fascinating displays of traditional Mongolian clothing and weaponry, as well as exhibits charting the course of Chinggis Khan's empire-building. Welcome lunch in a Mongolian restaurant. In the afternoon we Chinggis Khan’s statue, the tallest horseman statue in the world. Arrive at the statue complex and visit the museum of ger history. Climb into horse head for the panoramic view of the surrounding. Transfer back to the hotel. Hotel 4* B+L
Sep 14. Olgii, Bayan-Olgii province
We catch a flight to Olgii town this morning. Upon arrival, meet your local driver at the airport and transfer to the ger camp. Today we will have sightseeing in Olgii town including Olgii museum, mosque and local bazaar. Visit Nairamdal Tolgoi hill for the panoramic view of Olgii town. Ger camp B+L+D
Sep 15. Day Trip Eagle hunter family
Today we will leave the town and drive to the eagle trainer Kazakh family home. Get the introduction of Kazakh nomadic lifestyle and see how the eagles are trained at the spot. Enjoy talking to the Kazakh nomads and experience real nomadic hospitality. Lunch at the family and we will see private eagle demonstration of training. Transfer back to Olgii to our ger camp in the evening. Ger camp B+L+D
Sep 16. Altai Eagle Festival
After breakfast, we drive to Tolbo lake to visit the venue of the festival and see annual Altai Eagle Festival. Enjoy watching opening ceremony that includes parade of Eagle Hunters with their eagles and horses. Today we will watch Fox Skin contest among eagle hunters and it is a real test of hunter’s ability, Eagles must catch a fox skin dragged behind their trainer’s horse. We will also see western Mongol archery, Kazakh traditional games such as Kyz Kuar, Bushkashi and Tiyn Teru. Transfer back to the accommodation in Olgii. Dinner and overnight. Ger camp B+L+D
Sep 17. Altai Eagle Festival
Today’s highlight is Eagle call competition among hunters. It is about testing hunter’s ability to call Eagle to their horse from a distance. We will also see camel race, and other traditional Kazak games such as Tiyn Tery, Bushkashi and Kyz Kuar. Awarding and closing ceremonies in the evening. Transfer to the accommodation in Olgii after the festival. Dinner and overnight in Olgii town. Ger camp B+L+D
Sep 18. Hustai National Park
Today, we will take a local flight from Ulgii town back to Ulaanbaatar city. Arrive in the city by the morning/afternoon (flight time will be informed). Upon arrival, we will drive to Hustai National Park which is one of the most popular national parks of Mongolia through the rolling steppes. Upon arrival, we head into the national park to spot the wild horse known as Takhi, birds and other wildlife. Overnight at the ger camp. Ger camp B+L+D
Sep 19. Ulaanbaatar
After breakfast, we will drive back to Ulaanbaatar city and transfer to the hotel for check in. In the afternoon, we visit the Bogd Khaan’s Palace Museum – the residence of the last king of Mongolia and Zaisan memorial hill for the panoramic view of the city. Optional souvenir and cashmere shopping if you wish. Farewell dinner. Hotel 4* B+L+D
Sep 20. Departure from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
You are transferred to the airport/train station after breakfast. End of service. B
Tour Dates:
| 12th Sep- 20th Sep 2023 |
If you wish to take this tour as a private tour, just click the "Customize this tour" button at the bottom of the page and tailor-make the itinerary in anyway you wish. Upon receiving your request, one of our travel advisors will get back to you shortly with a proposal and quote.
Tour Price:
| Pax 4-12 | US$ 2600 per person | |
| Single supplement charge | US$ 250 |
Included Services:
Not Included in the Service
DISCOUNT CONDITIONS:
Accommodation info on your Mongolia tours
Ulaanbaatar: Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia, offers a variety of hotels ranging from basic guesthouses to high-end 5* hotel.
Some of our Mongolia tours do not include the hotel stays in Ulaanbaatar in the tour package, where clients can choose a hotel that suits their needs and budget. Please make sure to check your tour program`s Inclusions and Exclusions section to confirm if your hotel stay is included in the package.
If you wish us to book your hotel for you, your travel consultant will be happy to recommend and book an ideal hotel for you.
Here are hotels that are recommended by us:
Outside Ulaanbaatar: Outside of Ulaanbaatar where there are no hotels, tourist Ger (yurt) camps are the best accommodation for travelers. A Ger is Mongolian traditional dwelling made of felt layers and wooden construction, and the Mongolians have lived in Gers for thousands of years. Tourist Ger camps offer comfortable Gers with 1-3 beds with good bedding (1 Ger equals 1 hotel room), and also offer well-maintained public western style showers and WCs on their grounds. Some Ger camps offer en-suite bathroom facilities at additional charge, please ask your Selena Travel advisor for further details when booking your Mongolia tour.
Food on Selena Travel tours
In the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, a great variety of restaurants can be found and you will be eating at some of the best restaurants of Ulaanbaatar on your Mongolia tour while in the capital. Once you are outside the capital, Ger restaurants in Ger camps, local cafes in the small towns and sometimes nomadic families will be the places where you will be eating most of your meal. Ger restaurants often offer set continental breakfasts, set menu lunches and dinners consisting of salad or soup, main course and dessert.
While on the tour, during your longer driving days you will take packed lunch from Ger camps, often vegetable salad, main course such as fried chicken/noodles/dumplings and a small dessert, while hitting the road. Most of the food restrictions and allergies such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and many others, can be accommodated with easy on your Mongolia adventure.
Luggage allowance on Selena Travel tours
If you are on an overland only tour across Mongolia, the recommended weight of your luggage is 20kg per person (max). However, kindly note that domestic flight luggage allowance per person is 15 kg (10 kg for the check in luggage and 5 kg for the carry on luggage). It is possible to purchase extra luggage space which costs US$2 - 5 per 1kg.
DESTINATION & ATTRACTIONS BRIEF INFO
Historically, nomadic Kazakhs of Western Mongolia depended on Golden Eagles for hunting. The Berkut Association is a community-based association consisting of local Kazakhs who are committed to preserving their traditional heritage and conserving the Golden Eagle. All proceeds from the festival's ticket sales will go to the Berkut Association, which will use these funds to further the goals of the organization including arranging the eagle festival each year. The Golden eagle festival will be held on 03 – 04 Oct 2015.
One of the last true wilderness areas of Asia, the stunning beauty of the magnificent Altai Mountains will be the backdrop for this extraordinary Eagle Festival. A highlight of any trip to this region is interacting with local Kazakhs and learning about their unique culture. Approximately ninety percent of the population of Bayan-Ulgii is Kazakh and though their pastoral-nomadic lifestyle is similar to that of Mongolians, these Kazakh-speaking nomads are predominantly Moslem. Passed down from their Turkic ancestors, many Kazakhs are still hunting with trained Golden Eagles whose vision is eight times more acute than humans.
Female eagles are preferred since they are believed to be more aggressive and weigh as much as fifteen pounds (nearly one-third more than the males). Kazakh women are renowned for their skills in embroidery and appliqué-hand-crafted felt carpets line the floor of their gers and delicately embroidered tapestries adorn the walls in a dazzling mosaic of colors.
Aug 10, 2012. Gobi & Karakorum Explorer tour
Our recent "The Gobi & Karakorum Explorer" tour with you was excellent, everything exceeded our expectations! It was a super trip in our lives and we loved our Mongolia holiday so much. Our guide Joe was kind, well organised, accurate and informative, polite and caring and always provided us with timely information. And our driver Jack is super, very friendly, professional and always on time.
We are wild travelers, having been to many places in the world - but Mongolia is still truly unspoiled and uncontaminated. Selena Travel's services were perfect right from the very first email. We would like to thank Selena Travel, our guide and our driver for having made this Mongolia experience a truly beautiful one with so many wonderful memories.
Rafaella, Benedetta, Lidia
Sending you some of our nicer pictures. Some are chosen for their beautiful scenery while the rest are just us happily playing and goofing around. There are a couple of shots of us doing some Mongolian wrestling, as suggested by Oyuna since we missed out on the mini-Naadam festival. She said since we missed it, we might as well organise our own festival by playing some Mongolian games. Haha... We had so much fun playing those games!!! :)OK, I hope you like the pictures we send you. Best regards to everyone at Selena Travel and thank you once again for all your assistance.
Margaret Suganda
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